Author's Note: Random oneshot that is supposed to be a prelude to the remake of my other story, "The first to wake". I'll see about getting on that. Insert disclaimer here.
Time and space are said to be limitless, every choice bearing a different outcome evolves into it's own dimension. We all like to think about the 'what ifs'. What if I hadn't ever met that person? What if I
had decided to go to this place instead of that place? Every story is a what if; every dream, every wish, every regret.
Haruno Sakura began life as a civilian. A chance crush on a black haired boy changed all that. The boy was a ninja-in-training, an honored warrior-to-be of their village, and so too did she want to be.
Perhaps Sakura would have made a good civilian mother, she certainly got along with children well enough. Perhaps Sakura might have been able to get under the skin of the black haired boy with the cold black
eyes, if only she had tried harder to understand him rather then placing him on a pedestal of expectations. Perhaps she should have taken a moment to notice the brown haired boy next door instead, who was
neither troubled nor a ninja-in-training.
But none of that happened, and Sakura grew up, trying to find her place in the world as a Kunoichi.
She was naturally born a weak child, frail and female. By the time she graduated the Ninja Academy, the list of techniques she knew was pathetically short, the strength of her chakra pool was very small,
and her training regiment woefully lax compared to her team mates; the black haired boy and the fox-like child. Sakura was on a path though would either lead to giving up her career choice or loosing her
life trying. And then... then the world changed. The enemies were suddenly right underneath them, attacking her friends and teachers during the practical exams for becoming the next ninja rank. The snake
loving mastermind of the attack, S-class missing-nin Orochimaru, had come to kill the village's beloved leader, and found a small prize on the side; her black haired boy. Perhaps she might have died trying
to protect him after the snake-man bit him. Perhaps she might have faltered and run for her life. Perhaps frail, weak Sakura Haruno had never entered the exams with her team, and the boy and the missing-nin
never met.
None of that happened either, and Sakura lived, getting short tempered with her own weakness. And the black haired boy... he left.
Uzumaki Naruto loved her. He loved Sakura more than he'd ever admit to anyone, himself especially. She never really paid him much mind as a child, and didn't give him much credit as a team member. Not until
he proved himself at least. But when he did, she acknowledged him, became friends with him, and watched his back; she was his first real friend his age. That wasn't was did it though. Flirtacious friendship
always met with a brick wall, her blind obsession with their black-haired counterpart prevented it, even in his absence. Perhaps it would have always stayed that way, him always loving her, and her never
taking note. Or perhaps she would have grown annoyed and pushed him away, or perhaps the black haired boy would return and steal her away.
Another set of events that would never occur, for when she found out he was fox-like because he was possessed by the fearsome 9 tailed fox demon, she startled, calmed, and then hugged him.
Naruto's over-bright personality, and defiance in the face of all odds now made sense! The cold-shoulder treatment from the all the village adults who somehow knew... it all suddenly made so much sense. He
had suffered for his possession, but the demon had to be contained by someone, better him than someone else. Still, dispassionate stares and fearful, cruel eyes of an entire village isn't something any child
should experience every single day since the morning they were born.
When the time came for Naruto to leave the village and walk the world for a spell to master his arts, he said goodbye to Sakura with a dire oath, a shit-eating grin, and a thumbs up. "I'll bring him back.
It's a promise." Sakura still did not love him as she loved Sasuke, the black eyed boy, and if that jerk was who she wanted... well then, Naruto would get him for her. Love is blind. Love is selfless. And
love is nonsensical. Love only ever wins, because it is also so very powerful.
Sakura watched him walk away.
What if...?